Cleaning pad

ABSTRACT

A cleansing pad made of a special nylon basket-weave type of fabric bag, filled with a resilient pad composed of nylon net, and which is incapable of retaining any material quantity of water.

D United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,908,218 Oishi 1 1 Sept. 30, 1975 1 1 CLEANING PAD 2.948.911 8/1960 Steiner 15/209 AH 3.216.028 11/1965 Lawson 5/337 {76] Inventor:- Kazuko Olshl, 2308 Vlctona 3341196 9/1967 Bamhouse 15/209 R Cullf- 90640 3.711.889 1/1973 Jennings 15/227 1 1 H1991 4, 1974 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [211 Appl. No.: 430,714 1.070.031 2/1954 France, 15/244 B 414.099 5/1925 Germany 15/209 A Relamd Application Dam 822.467 9/1937 France 15 209 AH [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 278.006. Aug. 4. 7 /1 United ing 1 /20 A 1972. abandoned.

Primary E.\'an1inerDanie1 Blum [52] US. Cl 15/20 R Armrney, Agent, or Firm-Forrest J. Lilly [51] Int. Cl. A47L 17/08 [58] Field of Search 15/208. 209 R, 209 A. 57 ABSTRACT 15/209 AH, 244 B,244C,118,210 R, 104.93; L 1

401/201 A cleansing pad made of a special nylon basket-weave type of fabric bag, filled with a resilient pad composed [56] R f en Cit d of nylon net. and which is incapable of retaining any material quantity Of Water.

1.773.734 8/1930 Kean 15/209 A 6 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures 1.873.503 8/1932 Stewart 15/209 R US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,908,218

U.S. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet2of2 3,908,218

CLEANING PAD RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation-in-part of my earlier copending application Ser. No. 278,006, filed Aug. 4, 1972, entitled Cleaning Pad now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to scouring or cleaning pads, of the type having an outer mesh bag of a durable roughsurfaced plastics texitle material, and a porous filler.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Scouring pads of the type referred to herein are generally filled with some spongy, water-holding material, often foam rubber. Such a pad is used by dipping it in water, and then scouring the article to be cleaned, with or without the use of cleansing powders. A primary shortcoming of such pads as have been known in the past is that the sponge filler tends to retain a substantial quantity of water, even after squeezing, and such water, generally retaining some food substances, or dirt, in a very short time acquires an unpleasant odor.

A general purpose of this present invention is accordingly to provide such a bag with an inner filler substance which retains hardly any water, i.e., an insufficient amount to generate a noticeable odor, and which by the same token remains clean and sanitary over a long period of time.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide a scouring pad of the character described with a cover of textile material that has a substantial degree of elastic stretch in at least one direction, whereby to afford a good, taut fit of the cover over the filler.

A still further purpose is to provide an open-work filler, of a resilient nylon net material, so contrived as to be resiliently self-biased to an expanded condition, both to fill the bag fully and smoothly, and also to a condition of maximized openness, whereby it will hold almost no water, while the spaces between the filaments of the net are spread apart to maximize quick drying.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The scouring pad according to the invention in its most preferred form, comprises a plastics cover material, preferably nylon, ofa weave affording a limited degree of resilient or elastic stretch in a direction preferably laterally of the pad, and a filler material comprised of multiple layers of an openwork, resilient or springy material. A preferred material is nylon net or equivalent plastics substance, of a relatively large open-work pattern. The elastic stretch cover or bag material is neatly filled by the resilient filler. The nylon textile cover, or bag, is tough, durable, resilient, and hard enough to effectively scour away food materials from dishes, silverware, or metal pans, or dirt or scum from bowls, bath tubs, etc. without scratching.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the scrubbing pad of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a sheet of the filler pad material in plain view;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the filler pad folded from the material of FIG. 2, prior to insertion into the cover bag;

FIG. 3a is a view taken on line 3a-3a on FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the two halves of the cover bag in plan, after stitching together and before turning inside out;

FIG. 5 is a detail section on line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section similar to FIG. 5 but after turning inside out;

FIG. 7 is a similar view, but after stuffing with the filler bag;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but after a final stitching;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view to an exaggerated scale showing the textile preferably used for the outside cover;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative filler in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 11 shows a strip of nylon net from which another embodiment of the filler'of the invention can be formed;

FIG. 12 shows the sheet of FIG. 11 doubled over;

FIG. 13 shows the next step following that of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows rather diagrammatically and pictorially the filler at the conclusion of the step of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 shows the step immediately following that of FIG. 14, with the filler being substantially stuffed inside the enclosure bag of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a section, generally diagrammatic, taken in accordance with line 16l6 of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic view taken on line 17-17 in FIG. 14, with radial spreading of spiral folds for clarity of understanding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT The scouring pad of the invention comprises a nylon or other suitable plastics textile cover or bag 10, woven somewhat loosely of nylon or similar hydrophobic plastics filaments, and a porous, resilient, non-absorbing filler pad or flattened ball 11, comprised of many layers of nylon net. The expression nylon is herein used in its generic sense to denote a plastics filter substance which is relatively hard, smooth surfaced, resilient, hydrophobic and non-wearing, which, particularly when wet, is non-absorptive, but slides over a soiled surface to be cleaned in a semi-slippery manner, and which readily and rapidly cuts away dirt and scum, or food accretions or the like, but is not hard or abrasive enough to scratch or mar dishes, silverware, stainless steel pans, porcelain bowls or the like. Any equivalent is of course within the meaning of the word nylon as used herein and in the claims.

The filler has water absorption characteristics almost the opposite of a sponge. It comprises a pad made up of multiple layers 11a of nylon net or other equivalent plastics textile, and preferably having the physical characteristic of single, relatively stiff and resilient filaments 12 of the plastics material in an openwork pattern, e.g., preferably forming a multiple openwork hexagon pattern, as in FIG. 2. The scale in FIG. 2 is about 1.5 to l, and the filaments defining the hexagons are quite fine, as in the generally familiar commercial product. This material is light, stiff and quite resilient, as well as very porous to water. But it does not hold water. A stream of water will run through a large number of successive layers of the material with scarcely any restraint. The individual filaments making up each hexagon are resiliently bendable, but relatively stiff. Any lateral bending of the material is quite strongly self-resisted, and develops a corresponding return force. The filler is thus springy.

Preferably, for a bag about 4% inches long and 3 /2 inches wide, I may use for the filler a rectangular strip of the nylon net which is initially about 12 times wider than the pad, and about 15 times longer. For example, it may be about 3% feet wide and 5 feet long, and may initially be in the general form of a rectangle. This is not to say that the strip of nylon net to be used cannot be cut off on a diagonal at its end or ends, or otherwise depart from a true rectangular shape, but an original rectangular shape facilitates, in some forms of the pad, the folding or winding manipulations necessary to produce the pad, which, in the form of FIGS. 1-9, is substantially or generally rectangular.

To produce the pad, in one of its forms, I fold the nylon net strip along longitudinal fold lines, spaced apart by approximately the width of the bag, six or seven times. I then fold the resulting elongated multilayer pad back and forth along transverse fold lines spaced apart by approximately the length of the bag, in a zig-zag pattern (FIG. 3), so as to form a folded substantially rectangular pad as seen in FIG. 3. The individual folds or layers of this pad, owing to the bends therein all along their multiple longitudinal and trans verse uncreased edges, are self-biased, to expand resiliently to a pad thickness of say 2 inches, yet may be eas ily squeezed by the fingers to a compressed thickness of approximately A inch. When so compressed, perpendicularly to the folds, there is a resilient deformation of the folds from their initial flat planes, and thus a springback force is developed.

The preferred textile weave of the outer cover is such as to have a substantial capability of lateral elastic stretch laterally of the bag (or longitudinally if pre ferred). There may be a small degree of longitudinal stretch as well, but the lateral stretch enables the outside cover to conform snugly to the filler, while the longitudinal stretch, if used, may help to a minor degree. Or these directions can be interchanged. The weave of the preferred cover is shown greatly magnified and exaggerated in FIG. 9 and will be described more fully hereinafter.

The cover 10 is in two identical upper and lower layers 10a and 10b, and these are trimmed, for example, to a rectangular, oir generally rectangular, roundedcorner or other equivalent shape, placed back to back (FIG. 4) with their wrong or inside surfaces initially next to one another, and then stitched together as at 15, leaving margins or hems 16 between the stitching and outmost edges 17 (FIG. 5). The stitching has a gap 18, at one end (or along one side, as in FIG. 15). The bag so formed is then turned inside-out (FIG. 6). The folded nylon net filler pad is then inserted into the bag through the gap 18. To introduce it readily, it may be resiliently compressed by the fingers, and then released after insertion, whereupon it expands resiliently and snugly fills the bag, the bag stretching slightly under the expansion force to take up the slack. It is positioned inside the bag so that one or more edge portions 19 of the net material of the pad work into the space alongside the aforementioned margins or hems 16. The pad is then stiched along a stitch line 20, in-

wardly of the outer periphery formed by the stitch line 15. The stitch line 20 will be understood not only to form the bag with what is known commonly as a French seam, but to switch in place, to the strips 16, edge portions 19 of the filler pad, all as suggested in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Thus I form a nylon bag, stiched around the multilayered, or folded, nylon .net filler pad, the cover having the elastic stretch characteristics, and the filler the elastic compression and expansion characteristics, to form a smooth, taut pad, wrinkle-free, and easily resiliently compressible into a form conforming to the contour of a surface to be cleaned.

The preferred material for the cover is shown somewhat diagrmmatically and to greatly exaggerated scale in FIG. 9. This material, made of nylon or equivalent, is manufactured'in Japan, and is on the market in the United States. It is referred to as toweling, but, being non-absorbent, is not intended for drying but rather for washing or rinsing. This particular material has been found very effective for the present purpose, but of course other nylon or other suitable loosely woven plastics textile material of good scrubbing characteristics may be used. The illustrative textile is composed of parallel nylon multifilament strands 30, each made up of six or eight nylon fibers or monofilaments 31. The individual multifilament strands will be seen to have a sinuous or wavy form, and have been described herein as generally sinusoidal. The pitch or wave length of the wave-like undulations of the strand is uniform, and the wave character may be termed generally sinusoidal notwithstanding that the basic wave form, speaking in strict mathematical terms, is not that of a single frequency sinusoid. Thus as used herein, the term generally sinusoidal implies and denoted a wave form of alternate peaks and valleys of substantially uniform peak amplitude, and of uniform wave length or pitch (distance from peak to peak). Strict conformation to a pure since curve is not, however, required; and within the meaning of generally sinusoidal as herein used, the wave form may even approach or become substantially a square wave (which actually results from a pure fundamental sine wave to which is added sine wave harmonies). The multifilament strands 30 may be very slightly kinky as well as being generally sinusoidal in form, and are spaced slightly apart, say half their diameter, as represented with considerable exaggeration, for clarity of illustration, in FIG. 9. The strands 30 are thus capable of limited longitudinal stretch because of the waves or kinks therein, which straighten under tension. They are preferably oriented transversely of the pad. As will appear, peaks and valleys of successive strands 30 fall opposite one another, and afford the material a ribbed surface structure. Extending at right angles to and interwoven with the sinusoidal strands 30 are fine monofilaments 32. Monofilaments 32 cross alternately under and then over successive peaks of the sinusoidal multifilament strands 30. The monofilaments 32 of each group 33 are laterally spaced, and generally parallel to one another. However, they follow a somewhat zig-zag path as they'cross over and then under the successive multifilament strands 30. They are straight enough, however, that the woven textile has imperceptible stretch in the direction of the monofilaments 32.

The zig-zag monofilaments 32 will be seen to hold the wavy multifilaments with the waves therein oriented into planes which are approximately, i.e., within 15 or so, of the perpendicular to the textile cover, so that the.

peaks thereof reach outward from thei pad to engage-" the surface being cleaned during performances'l' hesi? nusoidal mutlifilament strands 30 are so' arranged 'that their peaks and valleys are aligned in directions at right angles thereto, giving "the textile a ribbed appearance and effectv These rib-forming strands ofnylon, and es-- pecially the peak portions thereof, form parallel scrubbing elements which readily and effectively cut orshear away food, scurn or dirt.,Thus, when the pad is rubbed against a plate to be cleaned, for example, loops or peaks of the nylon multifilar'nent strands'can catch or snag food them.

contracted'condition. They are readily-stretched to a degree, however, where necessary to accommodate the bulk and shape of the filler pad, orwhen in use.' The scrubbing pad as thus described is a most useful housefold cleaning device-When wetted, it slides easily The sinusoidal multifilaments 30 stan'dnor'ma'lly in a accretions on the plate and thusremove "onto' the upper'and lower halves of the filler as the lat- ='-'ter is seen in =FIG.- 10; or; as an alternative the two halves of the-bag or covericouldtgoonto the ends of the "r'olled-filler.of FIG-.' 10. M I I Finally, FIGS. 1:1-17 show a presently preferred form of pad 50: which, again'relying on the springiness of the 1 X 2 /2 feet, with a fold along one edge (FIG. 12). I then lift' up the center ofthedouble thickness piece, so there is a center hump, core, or hub 54, which can be grasped by the fingers, as illustrated,-and-, twisted, or gy rated, while the portions outside thereof are worked and folded into successive vertical folds 56, in a manover the surfaces'of a dish with "an actual slippery effect, contributing a good feel to the operation, While' at the same time cutting away or abrading-hardened= food or dir't with surprising easeQ-Tlie'riad; has great 'springiness, and resultant conformability to the shape' of a dish when pressed thereagainstJThus thejpadl becauseo f the s pringines'sof'tlie interioiilaye'rs' of nylon 1 net material, self-conforms to the shape ofa dish spoon, fork, of knife, btttht'o n rauctts, and the like; while the pad is moved thereover. under moderre] piqieiiibvaror i t j ine d'along bends 57, in spiral patterns (FIGS; 14 and 17), finally to form the spiral roll 58, as seen in FIG. 14. The roll is made fairly tight, andof a size which can just ate downward pressure. Thus food, scum, etci, is gain'ed.-

In use, the pad is generallyful certain quantity of water, until d" or: squeezed,

squeezing after usei'or even' flipp ie n virtu over the pad will run right.through;ije moving'idirt or food part'icles "which may" havefg'ottenjin the 'filler.

Easy squeezing thenclearsouttheyvatier the pad emptying property the pad stays cle'an and sweet for an unexpectedly long period of time. I I I Next, with reference to FIG. 16', there will be described an alternative filler pad 40, made again of resilient nylon net material and of a multilayer type, with folds or bends such as will again have the desirable spring character.

A strip of nylon net, again about /2 feet wide and 5 feet long, is folded first along longitudinal fold lines spaced apart by the width of the bag, as before. The resulting multiple layer strip 41 is then folded, not in zigzag fashion as before, but end-over-end, beginning with a fold length 42 only a small fraction of the length of the bag, and ending with a final fold length, when the roll is flattened (FIG. 10), of substantially the length of the bag. It will be seen that this pad is simply rolled and then somewhat flattened, as distinguished from the zigzag arrangement first explained. It will be seen also that, as in the first form, the resulting pad has layers 43 in face-to-face contact, and interconnecting bends along the longitudinal edges of the layers which give it the spring character described in connection with FIGS. l-4. The pad of FIG. 4 is next encased in the bag as described for the first embodiment. The top and bottom 10a and 11a of the bag of FIGS. 1 and 4 may go I let t ed, and"then' scrubbed 'overthe surface to beclea nedflt'will holda';

but its water retaining prope rty very lowf sirn ple neras to ,cause the surrounding m'aterialto wind fairly tightly intoja spiral roll 58 about this hub.

The manipulations are carriedlout properly if the doubledslieet (FIG. 13) is laid over one hand (not shown), ai id with 'the'other, the hump 54 is lifted up say an inch 'or two', and then twisted around a number of times-,acc ompanid preferably 'witli-a gyrating mo- I tion.'On c e;the ball is we ll started, the supporting hand I can be used to aid-in arranging the'folds, so they are principallyorlfor the most part of a substantially uni- ,form height and wind on a spiral manner. The material thus tendstoform into concentric folds or layers 56,

be introduced through the slit 19a in the side of the bag (FIG. 15). The on goes insnugly, but then springs out .both radially and circumferenti'ally, so as to accommo- 1 date tozthe size, and shape of the bag.

The radial expansion is of courseowing to the fact that the roll has beenfairly tightly madefland naturally I v I h V v expands considerably when released inside the'bag. rapidly dries t'hroughout."Owing"to "this free water Also, of course, the bend'sat'the longitudinal edges of successive layers of theroll'tend toward expansion of the successive turns. The reason for the great springiness in the vertical direction (axially), is less obvious, but can be understood by con s'idering FIG. 16. If the pad is compressed, folds 56 are lessened iri width (vertically), and hence must bend or wrinkle laterally, with perhaps several changes in direction in some cases. This is resilient deformation in directions perpendicular to the folds. In addition, the hexagonal openwork pattern tends to resiliently collapse vertically under vertically applied pressure when the folds 56 are compactly held in mutually supporting relationship by virtue of the tightness of the wind. This is resilient defomration transversely of the folds. Thus, considerable energy is stored in the spring constituted by the roll of resilient material. When the compressive force is removed, these bends and collapses tend to return to their original form, and very considerable return force is then available to expand the roll so that it returns to its initial thickness, and thus again supports the pad in Considering FIGS. 14, 16 and l7,'it will be appreciated that these-illustrations have been somewhat idealized for purpose of clear illustration. Thus, in reality in FIG. 14, the successive turns of the spirally 'woundfiller are thinner, more numerous, and-may not be quite so regular as pictured. Also, the folds56 in.FlGS';. l6 and 17 are actually in mutual tight contact; and where two folds form a bend, where they join, the bends generally are somewhat open, so as to form loops. They exist, however, in a compact multi-layer state, and carry out effectively the functions assigned to them.

FIG. shows the roll 58 of FIG. 14 following insertion into a bag, and-prior to sewing up the entrance slit Equivalents of the specific embodiments herein illustrated are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l. A cleaning pad, comprising: a bag composed of an exterior plastics textile, and a filler in said b ag comprised of superimposed layers of open-work plastics material, 7

said exterior textile comprising interwoven plastics multifilament strands and monofilaments, the mul-v tifilament strands running side-by-side in .0nedircction and comprising succesive slightly laterally spaced, generally parallel multifilament strands which are of generally sinusoidal form, with the individual successive substantially sinusoidal multifilament strands forming alternate peaksand valleys of uniform lengths which are transversely aligned in directions perpendicular to said strands, and

said monofilaments including transversely spaced monofilaments running at right angles, to, and alternately under and over, in a zig-zag manner; the successive aligned peaks and valleys of successive sinusoidal multifilament strands, all in an arrangement affording the plastics textile material with a I stiff and resilient openwork, plastics net, folded a plurality of times each on parallel longitudinal fold lines spaced apart by substantially the width of the bag, and on parallel transverse fold lines at right angles to said longitudinal fold lines, in dimensions .to fill said bag and in a manner affording a multiple-layer filling pad, with adjacent layers of the pad in facial contact, joined integrally along adjacent, uncreased edges thereof to afford bias forces tend- .ing to resiliently expand the pad and tauten the bag. 3. A cleaning pad, comprising:

an exterior bag composed of a loosely woven plastics textile material adapted for free passage of water therethrough,

resilient filler snugly fitted into and at least slightly stretching said bag, composed of a sheet of openwork, relatively stiff and resilient plastics net arranged into a compact multilayered bagconforming configuration including a succession of intimately facially contacting fold layers integrally joined at adjacent uncreased edges which resiliently resist compressive deformation of the layers 1 at the marginal bends between fold layers and which resiliently bias said pad to expand within and tautensaid bag.

.- 4. The cleaning pad of claim 3, wherein said filler comprises a sheet of the plastics net folded a plurality of times each on parallel longitudinal fold lines spaced apart by substantially the width of the bag, and also end .over end a plurality of times on parallel transverse fold lines spaced apart initially by a distance substantially shorter than the lengthof the bag, and then by progressively increasing the distances to a final distance substantially the length ofthe bag. v

s. The subject matter ofclaim 3, wherein the filler is composed-of a sheet of plastics net gathered at the center in an axial -cor e, ,and w ith the remainder of said 7 sheet arrangedthereabout in a plurality of adjacent,

concentric, spirally wrapped folds which form a roll conformingin width generally to the desired uncompressed thickness of the pad, and which are spirally wound'tightly about said axial core.

6. The subject matter of claim 3, wherein the plastics textile bag is at least limitedly stretchable in at least one direction. 

1. A cleaning pad, comprising: a bag composed of an exterior plastics textile, and a filler in said bag comprised of superimposed layers of open-work plastics material, said exterior textile comprising interwoven plastics multifilament strands and monofilaments, the multifilament strands running side-by-side in one direction and comprising succesive slightly laterally spaced, generally parallel multifilament strands which are of generally sinusoidal form, with the individual successive substantially sinusoidal multifilament strands forming alternate peaks and valleys of uniform lengths which are transversely aligned in directions perpendicular to said strands, and said monofilaments including transversely spaced monofilaments running at right angles to, and alternately under and over, in a zig-zag manner, the successive aligned peaks and valleys of successive sinusoidal multifilament strands, all in an arrangement affording the plastics textile material with a ribbed surface structure, and also in one wherein the substantially sinusoidal multifilament strands are resiliently longitudinally stretchable in response to tension by straightening of said sinusoidal form.
 2. A cleaning pad, comprising: a porous bag composed of a plastics textile; and a filler in said bag composed of a sheet of relatively stiff and resilient openwork, plastics net, folded a plurality of times each on parallel longitudinal fold lines spaced apart by substantially tHe width of the bag, and on parallel transverse fold lines at right angles to said longitudinal fold lines, in dimensions to fill said bag and in a manner affording a multiple-layer filling pad, with adjacent layers of the pad in facial contact, joined integrally along adjacent, uncreased edges thereof to afford bias forces tending to resiliently expand the pad and tauten the bag.
 3. A cleaning pad, comprising: an exterior bag composed of a loosely woven plastics textile material adapted for free passage of water therethrough, a resilient filler snugly fitted into and at least slightly stretching said bag, composed of a sheet of openwork, relatively stiff and resilient plastics net arranged into a compact multilayered bag-conforming configuration including a succession of intimately facially contacting fold layers integrally joined at adjacent uncreased edges which resiliently resist compressive deformation of the layers at the marginal bends between fold layers and which resiliently bias said pad to expand within and tauten said bag.
 4. The cleaning pad of claim 3, wherein said filler comprises a sheet of the plastics net folded a plurality of times each on parallel longitudinal fold lines spaced apart by substantially the width of the bag, and also end over end a plurality of times on parallel transverse fold lines spaced apart initially by a distance substantially shorter than the length of the bag, and then by progressively increasing the distances to a final distance substantially the length of the bag.
 5. The subject matter of claim 3, wherein the filler is composed of a sheet of plastics net gathered at the center in an axial core, and with the remainder of said sheet arranged thereabout in a plurality of adjacent, concentric, spirally wrapped folds which form a roll conforming in width generally to the desired uncompressed thickness of the pad, and which are spirally wound tightly about said axial core.
 6. The subject matter of claim 3, wherein the plastics textile bag is at least limitedly stretchable in at least one direction. 